This invention relates to orthopedic devices of the type used to provide support for the lower back. More particularly, this invention relates to an orthopedic device in the form of a belt adapted to be worn by a user and to provide support for the lower back of the user.
Many orthopedic devices have been proposed, the purpose of which is to provide lower back support to prevent or alleviate lower back pain. Belts designed for this purpose have generally been of two different types. A first type uses some type of conforming pad, typically made of a foam material, with the pad being permanently attached to the belt either inside or outside the fabric comprising the belt, with the pad in a position to be compressed against the lower back region when the belt is arranged about the waist of the user. The second type of device employs an inflatable air bladder having one or more air chambers, the wall of the bladder being sufficiently flexible to enable the air chamber to conform to the shape of the back of the wearer when the belt is attached around the waist. Both types of device suffer from the disadvantage that the portion of the device in contact with the back of the user (i.e., the pad or the air chamber walls) functions to easily conform to the shape of the wearer's back. Consequently, if the lower back is in a position other than the ideal posture, the belt does not promote a change to the proper posture since the contact region of the pad adapts to the shape of the lower back. When this shape is contorted, as for example by performing a stressful lifting routine, the back is not effectively impeded by the device from maneuvering to an improper posture. Efforts to date to design an orthopedic device devoid of these disadvantages have not been successful.